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Relate Command

The arc relate command helps you explore relationships between different entities in the knowledge graph. It shows nodes that are connected to a specific entity, such as a commit, file, PR, or issue.

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Usage

arc relate node <node_id> [options]

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Subcommands

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node

Show nodes related to a specific entity. 
arc relate node commit:abc123

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Node ID Format

The node ID follows this format: <type>:<id>, where:
  • <type> is the type of node (commit, file, pr, issue, etc.)
  • <id> is the identifier for that node
Examples:
  • commit:abc123 - A commit with hash abc123
  • file:src/main.py - A file at path src/main.py
  • pr:123 - Pull request #123
  • issue:456 - Issue #456

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Options

OptionDescription
--max-depth <depth>Maximum depth to traverse in the knowledge graph (default: 2)
--edge-types <types>Comma-separated list of edge types to include
--node-types <types>Comma-separated list of node types to include
--format <format>Output format: text, json, or markdown (default: text)
--output <file>Write output to a file instead of stdout
--debugEnable debug logging

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Examples

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Basic Usage

arc relate node commit:abc123
This will show all nodes directly related to commit abc123.

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With Maximum Depth

arc relate node file:src/main.py --max-depth 3
This will traverse the knowledge graph up to a depth of 3 to find related information.

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Filtering by Edge Types

arc relate node pr:123 --edge-types REFERENCES,MODIFIES
This will only include relationships of type REFERENCES or MODIFIES.

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Filtering by Node Types

arc relate node issue:456 --node-types commit,pr
This will only include related nodes of type commit or pr.

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Output Format

The default output format is a text-based tree showing the related nodes: 
Related Nodes for commit:abc123
├── MODIFIES → file:src/main.py
│   └── MODIFIED_BY → commit:def456
├── PART_OF → pr:123
│   ├── REFERENCES → issue:456
│   └── AUTHORED_BY → user:jane
└── AUTHORED_BY → user:john

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Edge Types

Common edge types include:
Edge TypeDescription
MODIFIESA commit modifies a file
MODIFIED_BYA file is modified by a commit
PART_OFA commit is part of a PR
REFERENCESA PR references an issue
AUTHORED_BYA commit or PR is authored by a user
REVIEWSA user reviews a PR
DEPENDS_ONA file depends on another file

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Node Types

Common node types include:
Node TypeDescription
commitA Git commit
fileA file in the repository
prA pull request
issueAn issue
userA user (author, reviewer, etc.)
docA documentation file

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Troubleshooting

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No Results Found

If no results are found, try:
  1. Increasing the maximum depth with --max-depth
  2. Checking if the node ID is correct
  3. Running arc build to ensure the knowledge graph is up to date

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Performance Issues

For large repositories, the relate command may take some time to execute. To improve performance:
  1. Use a smaller maximum depth
  2. Filter by specific edge types or node types
  3. Run an incremental build first: arc build --incremental

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See Also